Curaçao: Marine Biology Adventure

Kalvins trip to Curacao this summer was his second Broadreach trip. As a parent, I can say that this program is top-notch and you are giving your child a world of opprotunities by sending them on a Broadreach adventure. Both years my son has come back with so much personal growth. He matures mentally, intellectually, and physically on these trips. As a 14 year old, he was intimidated by the college coursework this summer but excelled at it largely inpart to good instruction. I am thankful for the opprotunities that Broadreach provides, he is already booked to go to Yucatan next summer!

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This was not the adventure of a lifetime. That’s what I have to keep telling myself, because to acknowledge that I’ll never experience anything like my Broadreach trip again would send me into a bottomless pit of depression. I had found this program 3 years prior and immediately started saving up and dreaming about the trip. I was incredibly fortunate to receive a generous scholarship from broadreach that helped greatly with the costs. My only concern going into the program was that it would be impossible to live up to the expectations I had built over the 1,075 day wait. Somehow, it still exceeded them. Waking up on the island was a dream come true, and never in my life have I been more present in the moment. Learning to SCUBA Dive was such an unbelievable experience: I still picture all the amazing animals I saw underwater and am counting the days until I can dive again. The people there were also absolutely amazing, and we still talk nearly every day. I never felt judged by my peers, and Broadreach makes it so easy to bond and make lifetime friends. The instructors were all great and I found the classes fascinating. We were able to learn so much in such a short time, but it is all very manageable and low-stress. Getting to work with local conservation efforts was very rewarding, and I still can’t fully believe that I’m certified as a coral restoration diver now. If I weren’t aging out, I would absolutely do another trip. To anyone who is even slightly considering broadreach: go for it. You will not regret it.

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It was such a great experience and the perfect balance of academics and activities. We got to learn so much about Curacao and experience so many new and unique opportunities. We were able to learn about culture and things happening on the island. The activities were great and I learned a lot

Broadreach provided an amazing learning environment for scuba diving and academic learning about marine biology. My daughter loved the combination of classwork and scuba diving and excursions to other places near the Marine Biology Center in Curacao. She had so much fun and made friends that she still keeps in touch with. She will be going another Broardreach program next summer.

I participated in this trip in the summer of 2018 mainly as an opportunity to connect with the ocean and explore some of my interests I am otherwise not as exposed to in urban Shanghai, specifically diving and marine biology. Personally, I found (and still find it) unlikely that I go into the field, but I can say without a doubt that my time on this program has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in a long time. Needless to say, the site was fantastic with clear blue skies and abundant marine life. More importantly than that however, the nature of the trip and the way it's designed amplified the experience. For me, the one word that best captures the program is authentic. I was surrounded by some of the most passionate people I have ever met from my peers to my instructors. I was exposed to real researchers with real projects in a real research station. I explored the underwater world and studied it in the most direct way possible: diving. The authenticity of it all ensured that all the passion and wonder from my surroundings and the people around me was contagious. It was truly a joy to be a part of this world, and I have certainly been invigorated to explore more of it.